Photovoltaic solar concentrators generate electrical power by concentrating incoming sunlight onto photovoltaic devices using various optical elements, thereby collecting sunlight from a large area and concentrating it on a relatively small target area. Therefore, high efficiency solar cells, such as gallium arsenide-based (“GaAs”) solar cells, may be used in such solar concentrator systems in place of less efficient (and less expensive) silicon solar cells, thereby producing more energy per unit area at a reduced cost.
However, concentrated solar energy presents additional obstacles over traditional solar energy systems. For example, during off-point testing of solar concentrator systems (i.e., tests in which incoming light does not fall directly onto the target solar cell), the concentrated solar energy may fall onto areas adjacent to the target solar cells. These adjacent areas include important electrical and mechanical components, such as insulated wires, bypass diodes, adhesives and the like, which may quickly degrade or be damaged upon exposure to concentrated solar energy. Furthermore, thermal gradients in these components may damage the adjacent optical elements.
Accordingly, those skilled in the art continue to seek improvements in the field of solar concentrators.